MI’s Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Bumping Up Entrance Fees

There used to be a time when you could visit Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, the most beautiful place in Michigan and it wouldn't cost you a dime. The 70,000-acre park started charging visitors earlier this year, and those entrance fees are now going up.

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. If you remember when the park first made the announcement that they were going to implement fees at Pictured Rocks, they said that they would do it in phases over a three-year period.

How Much Will it Cost to Visit Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore?

As of January 1, an annual pass, which is good for one year, will cost $30. One-week passes will cost $20 for vehicles, $15 for motorcycles, and $10 per person for walk-in, bike-in, or boat-in visitors. Kids that are 15 and under will continue to get in for free.

Those prices will again increase in 2024.

When Will Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Increase Their Fees?

The park will increase its entrance fee rates starting on January 1, 2023. However, if you want to buy an annual pass, you should do it now because that pass will be good until December 2023.

Why Did Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Start Charging a Fee?

According to MLive, the park cites infrastructure strains due to the increase in visitors over the past decade as to why they implemented the fee in the first place and is also why their fees will increase.

There was a huge visitor surge in 2020 mainly due to the pandemic. Over 1.2 million people visited the park that year. If history repeats itself year after year, it will take a lot of money to maintain the park.